Life & fun · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Failure Is Not an Option

Mission control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and beyond

Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Failure Is Not an Option launched in 2015; newer entries below may have overtaken it.

1. 1
   Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned▲61

   The myth of the objective

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

2. 2
   Collapse▲68

   How societies choose to fail and succeed

   2015 · amazon.ca · its alternatives →

3. 3
   America's Forgotten Mars Mission▲91

   A visual essay, from Hardbound

   2016 · its alternatives →

4. 4
   Without Their Permission▲91

   How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

5. 5
   Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth▲60

   How will humanity survive?

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

6. 6
   Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny▲55

   The idea of greater non-zero-sum beneffitting the world

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

7. 7
   We Need Diverse Books▲87

   Advocating and supporting non-majority narratives

   2014 · indiegogo.com · its alternatives →

8. 8
   The Accidental Superpower▲67

   A contrarian assessment of American power

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

9. 9
   The Three-Body Problem▲63

   A secret military project sends signals into space

   2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

10. 10
    Black Swan▲80

    The impact of the highly improbable

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

11. 11
    No Dream Is Too High▲61

    Life lessons from a man who walked on the Moon

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

12. 12
    Wheels Stop▲63

    The tragedies and triumphs of the space shuttle program

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

13. 13
    Failure is Never Final▲58

    How to bounce back BIG from any defeat

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

14. 14
    Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think▲74

    The blueprint of an abundant future

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

15. 15
    Making Ideas Happen▲75

    Overcoming the obstacles between vision and reality

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

16. 16
    Earth and Space▲56

    Photographs from the Archives of NASA

    2015 · chroniclebooks.com · its alternatives →

17. 17
    Don't Give Up, Don't Give In▲53

    Lessons From An Extraordinary Life

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

18. 18
    A Man on the Moon▲59

    The voyages of the Apollo astronauts

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

19. 19
    Why Nations Fail▲75

    The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

20. 20
    Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage▲54

    A grizzly tale of hard decisions and high-stakes leadership

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

21. 21
    A Systems Doing Approach To Disruption▲58

    Use systems 'doing' to disrupt industries

    2016 · asha-labs.com · its alternatives →

22. 22
    The Moon is a Harsh Mistress▲75

    A computer leads the lunar population in a revolution.

    2016 · amazon.de · its alternatives →

23. 23
    The Disruption Dilemma▲61

    Disruption is a challenge but evidence says it can be tamed

    2016 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

24. 24
    The Quest▲62

    Energy, security, and the remaking of the modern world

    2015 · amazon.com · its alternatives →

Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →